Montreal Canadiens fans can rejoice that they will have a place to watch the Canadiens for the foreseeable future in both French and English. With television rights being a big business and major companies like Amazon wanting to show more NHL games, it seemed increasingly difficult to watch your favourite team without subscribing to a special channel. Now fans won’t have to.
Canadiens Sign Landmark Regional Long-Term Partnership
The contract between TSN/RDS and Montreal was scheduled to end at the end of the 2025-26 season, which would leave Habs fans in limbo as to where to watch games. Fans no longer need to worry because the Canadiens and Bell Media signed a long-term deal to keep broadcasting Habs games in French and English for years to come.
“We’ve been fortunate to count TSN and RDS as valued partners for many years, and we’re thrilled to formally extend this collaboration for years to come. Whether through live games or shoulder programming, this will allow fans to enjoy their Canadiens in a host of forms with industry-best production,” said France Margaret Bélanger, President, Groupe CH Sports and Entertainment.
There was no word on how long the deal would be, only that it will be long-term and considered a landmark extension.
Fans Can Watch the Canadiens on Many Platforms
With the new agreement with Bell Media, Montreal fans can now watch 50 games on TSN, 45 on RDS, 28 on Sportsnet, and 22 on TVA Sports. Sportsnet has the rights to Saturday and Wednesday night games and will prioritize the Toronto Maple Leafs on CBC; however, you can watch the Canadiens locally on City TV Montreal. Amazon Prime Video has the rights to Monday night games and will show four Montreal games. You will also be able to watch a few games in Punjabi on OMNI and Cree or Inuktitut on APTN through Sportsnet.
TSN will show 50 games and RDS 45 games, which is a reduction from the 60 games under the previous contract. TVA’s 22 games will be shown mainly on Saturday nights, except for Wednesday’s home opener. Bryan Mudryk will be the play-by-play announcer for TSN, and long-time legend Pierre Houde will call the games in French on RDS. Sportsnet still has the English rights for the playoffs, and TVA will show the playoff games in French.
Related: Canadiens’ French Voice Pierre Houde Will Receive the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award
To watch all 82 games, you will have to have access to Sportsnet, TSN2, TVA, RDS and Amazon Prime Video. Watching games isn’t as easy as it used to be; however, there are many more games you can watch from the comfort of your own home, provided you’re willing to pay for them.
